Protecting You
by Mouat97
Summary: Harry arrives at Grimmuald Place changed from the previous summer. When he has a nightmare of the Third Task, Sirius is helpless to watch his pain. Sirius' thoughts as he watches his godson as he sleeps. R


Sirius Black sighed, pushing back the rough comforter of his bed as he swung his feet over to the side of the bed. He ran a tired hand through his messy hair, fruitlessly willing himself to hold onto a sliver of sleep.

Groaning, he stood up, rubbing the bridge of his nose wearily as he stumbled to his door. A soft click, and it was open, exposing the dark and musty hallway of Grimuauld Place.

Sirius was about to head downstairs, perhaps to enjoy a nice warm bottle of Butterbeer, when a strange noise made him freeze in his tracks. It almost sounded like a cry for help, muffled by the ceiling above. Curious, he swept towards the staircase leading upstairs, silently taking his wand out of his pocket as he climbed the stairs.

Making less noise than the owl hooting outside, Sirius snuck down the hall, listening intently at every door that he passed. His ears were strained to react to the smallest of sounds, his hand gripping his faithful wand tightly. Years and years of waiting in Azkaban had left him jumpy and untrusting.

He had just pressed his ear to the door of Ron and Harry's room when he heard it again, coming from inside that very room. Stealthily, hiding his fear, Sirius slowly turned the doorknob, sliding inside quickly and shutting the door quietly behind him.

It took him a second for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the bedroom. The first thing that Sirius's eyes landed on was the snoring figure of Ron, sleeping peacefully in the bed closest to the door. His eyes drifted over the rest of the room, relaxing slightly when he found no danger.

Sirius jumped a foot in the air when another sound came from the other bed; a whimper. He quickly crept over to his Godson's bed, wand at the ready.

His eyes fell on the still figure of Harry, his small body facing him. Sirius bit back a grin as he saw how much like his father Harry looked when he was asleep. Awake, his bright green eyes were all Lily. But asleep, he looked just as James did. Sirius's heart clenched as he thought about his dead friend.

Harry suddenly stirred, face contorting in a grimace as he groaned softy. Sirius quickly knelt next to him, his hand reaching out to smooth his hair down. His Godson's face relaxed slightly as he did, and the lines of worry were erased from his young face.

A sudden voice from behind him made Sirius jump up and brandish his wand. "Couldn't sleep?"

Remus cowered playfully as Sirius pointed his wand at him. "Woah! Don't kill me!"

Sirius shoved his wand back into his pocket, scowling at his friend. "Quiet you fool, do you want to wake him?"

Remus's lips pressed together tightly as he crouched next to Harry's sleeping form. "Sorry."

Sirius sat down again. "It's alright. And yeah, I couldn't sleep. And then I heard something..."

Sirius trailed of as Harry's face contorted in an expression of pain, his whole body tensing up as he whimpered again. This time, it was Remus who reached out and stroked Harry's back comfortingly.

"He's too young to have so many nightmares," Sirius whispered, feeling useless as Harry restlessly twitched in his sleep. All those years, Sirius hadn't been there for him, and when he could have been, he wasn't.

Remus did not turn as he spoke. "Yes, I agree."

On the bed before them, Harry suddenly gasped out, his arms grasping the mattress tightly. His face was deathly pale in the patch of moonlight that drifted across his face.

"Shh, Harry, it's okay," Sirius soothed, staring helplessly as Harry thrashed about, getting more and more restless. Whatever he was dreaming about, it was causing him great anguish.

Remus hesitated slightly before turning and casting a silencing charm on the other boy. He had a feeling that Harry had had this dream before.

"Stop," Harry muttered, shaking his head back and forth desperately, his voice laced with pain and fear. "No, please, don't hurt him."

Sirius glanced helplessly at his friend as Harry began to tremble. Remus merely grimaced back as his worst fears were confirmed.

"No! Stop! Cedric!" he howled, lashing out blindly as he thrashed around in his bed. His cries echoed around the wide, spacious room, and Sirius was glad that Remus had put up that silencing charm.

"Harry, Harry, shhh, you're safe," Sirius soothed, running his hand up and down Harry's back gently, trying to calm him down. Slowly, but surely, his cries faded into the occasional whimper, but his body still trembled and jerked violently.

"I wish he would talk to us," Remus whispered wistfully, as Harry's right hand clenched and unclenched on his sheets. "You know, instead of pushing us away."

Sirius nodded. Ever since that night, Harry had never been the same. His face was always pale as a sheet, his normally vibrant green eyes faded and haunted. Bruise-like shadows under his eyes showed weeks of sleepless nights. Harry hardly spoke to anyone unless necessary, and often just stared blankly into space.

"Stop," Harry rolled over, his voice filled with agony as he murmured into his pillow. "Please, it hurts, quit it..."

"I wish I could, Harry!" Sirius whisper-cried desperately, burying his face in the sheets by Harry's face. His own heart was breaking as he watched his godson in the throes of a terrible nightmare, one that he had no power over.

It seemed as if he sat there forever, trying to will his godson's nightmares away. Eventually, Harry's cries faded to soft whimpers, which faded into sighs of contentment as he slowly relinquished his death grip on his bedsheets. Sirius slowly picked his head up, scared about waking Harry up. What he saw made a smile break across his face. His godson's face was finally peaceful and relaxed, his breathing steady.

Sirius didn't realize Remus had left the room until the sound of the door shutting alerted him to his exit. Sighing, he rested his head back down on the sheets by Harry's head, closing his eyes in exhaustion as he stroked his godson's hair with his hand.

He woke with a start the next morning when Harry sat bolt upright, his hands grabbing his glasses and shoving them onto his face. He blinked blearily down at Sirius, his face breaking into a smile as he looked back. Sirius was thrilled to see that the bags under Harry's eyes had faded slightly from actually sleeping part of the night.

"Sirius?" Harry croaked, his voice rough from his cries last night. "Why are you here?"

Sirius thought about it for a moment before he responded. "Protecting you."


End file.
